Blackout while eyes open

Today, after a long weekend of sun and drinking - but after a good nights rest and a lot of water - my boyfriend had a short episode of blackout this morning - when he sat forever at a green light when I told him it was green and to go, then just randomly parked the car and got out for no reason in the parking lot we pulled into. I didn’t realize why he did that, thought he was grabbing something out of the back... But then he got back in the car like it was all good.  Then about and hour later he blacked out while driving, with his eyes open and seemingly coherent, but obviously not realizing what was going on because he has no memory of us almost crashing head on into traffic (going 60mph), or of me making him pull over and pulling him out of the car so I could drive. Even when I was grabbing and shaking him he was still out of it and almost rear-ender the car in front of us before he pulled over!! He's had a few other times today when he seemed 'out of it' when we were talking and asking me questions to stuff he knew the answer to – with no recollection of these incidents. He had a bad head injury about 6+ years ago, would this have anything to do with it? He is going to the doctor first thing tomorrow, but any insight will be much appreciated.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Your boyfriend could be having a bad case of hangover or the alcohol has numbed his cognitive abilities. He could be having alcoholic liver problem that is also causing a brain fog. He needs to be assessed by a doctor immediately and liver function tests and blood alcohol level done. Also he may need a Ct scan or MRI of the brain to know more about the head injury he had 6 years back.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[caregiver222]

The symptoms you describe are typical of a kind of seizure called "petit mal".

It is also common after ingesting certain drugs, specifically LSD.

He should have gone to an emergency room because problems are often transient and the time to get tested is while you the having the problem or shortly thereafter.

Basically, you need to inform him his driving days are over until the problem is resolved.

As doctnee stated, it could have been the alcohol, but he needs to be assessed immediately, as doctornee suggested.

[LTrain17]

Can someone please recommend a neurology specialist in Seattle?